First case of CTE diagnosed in MMA fighter

Daily News Article — Posted on October 27, 2016

(by Bob Hohler, Boston Globe) – Jordan Parsons, the MMA fighter killed in a hit-and-run accident in Delray Beach, Florida last May, has been posthumously diagnosed with CTE, according to the Boston Globe.

It is the first time the disease, which has been found in late former NFL players, has been diagnosed in a mixed martial artist, the Globe reported.

The Globe learned of the diagnosis from forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who first discovered the disease in a former football player in 2002 and was the subject of the 2015 film “Concussion.”

Parsons, 25, died May 4 after he was struck by an SUV as he was crossing a major highway in Delray Beach during the early hours of May 1. Omalu said it was “impossible” for Parsons’ CTE to have been caused by the accident.

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including concussions.

Omalu also announced the discovery of CTE in professional wrestler Jon Rechner… as well as signs of early stages of the disease in Rechner’s tag team partner, Brian Knighton…. Both died this year at age 44. …

The diagnoses come as World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE], the industry’s largest promoter, defends itself against lawsuits alleging the company placed its business interests above the health and safety of its performers.

WWE spokesman Brian Flinn said by e-mail that the company would decline to comment until it has reviewed the research on the diagnoses. He suggested that Konstantine Kyros, a lawyer who represents more than 60 professional wrestlers, was “pushing’’ the CTE story to counter negative publicity about the WWE’s court motions to sanction him for improper conduct — an allegation Kyros denied.

The WWE lawsuits are similar to complaints brought by former players against the National Football League after Dr. Omalu’s landmark diagnosis in 2003 of CTE in the late Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster’s brain. The football cases led the NFL to reach a $1 billion settlement with the players.

The National Hockey League faces a similar legal challenge, and the Parsons case signals the possibility of court action against the MMA industry by participants of the combat sport. The industry’s leader, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was sold to a Hollywood conglomerate in July for $4 billion.

“These findings confirm that the danger of exposure to CTE is not limited to just football, hockey, and wrestling,’’ Omalu said in an interview. “Mixed martial arts is also a dangerous sport, and it’s time for everyone to embrace the truth.’’ …

CTE can only be diagnosed through postmortem brain autopsies. The autopsies on Parsons, Rechner, and Knighton were conducted by Dr. Julia K. Kofler, a neuropathologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian. The university is affiliated with Dr. Omalu’s charitable foundation, which he created in 2015 before the release of the movie “Concussion,’’ a dramatization of the NFL’s resistance to his CTE research.

Omalu said he reviewed Kofler’s studies and endorsed her findings.

“As a scientist, a physician, and a person of faith, I beg everybody involved with these sports to come together and identify the problems and find solutions,’’ Omalu said.

Parsons, a former high school wrestler in Michigan, began competing in MMA events at age 17. He turned pro at 20 and soon captured the Championship Fighting Alliance’s featherweight title.

Then came medical trouble. After rolling undefeated through his first seven professional bouts, he lasted only 71 seconds in his eighth match, in 2012, before he was sent reeling to the mat by a knockout punch. A full year passed before Parsons fought again.

His mother, Anna Morsaw, sent a video of the knockout to Kyros, who procured Parsons’s brain for the autopsy. She also sent a video of Parsons’s final match, in 2015, in which he went wobbling to the canvas after a thunderous kick to his head.

Still, Parsons was a rising star, and he was training with an elite professional team, the Blackzilians, in Boca Raton, Fla., before his death. On May 1 in nearby Delray Beach, he was struck in a crosswalk by a Range Rover that seconds earlier had allegedly been traveling more than 100 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone. He died three days later. …

Parsons’s mother declined to comment publicly on the diagnosis, indicating she was too distraught about his death and the pending criminal prosecution of the driver who allegedly killed him.

Reprinted here from the Boston Globe for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from BostonGlobe .com.

Questions

1. The first paragraph of a news article should answer the questions who, what, where and when. List the who, what, where and when of this news item. (NOTE: The remainder of a news article provides details on the why and/or how.)

2. a) What is CTE?
b) How is it diagnosed?

3. Who diagnosed Jordan Parsons’ CTE?

4. Define the following as used in the article:

posthumously (para. 1)

progressive (para. 5)

degenerative (para. 5)

concussion (para. 5)

postmortem (para. 12)

chronic (para. 19)

5. What conclusion did Dr. Omalu make about the dangers of CTE?

6. Why does Dr. Omalu say that it is impossible for Jordan Parsons’ CTE to have been caused by the hit-and-run accident?

7. Consider the following:

Many wrestlers have said they experienced repeated head blows while training and performing for the ECW and WWE

The WWE has cited positive results in a concussion management program it established in 2008 to complement its talent wellness protocols and better protect its performers.

Rechner’s mother Suzanne Rechner said, “I hope these results help other wrestlers learn about the health problems they are going to have in the future. She added, “WWE, just like the NFL, should take care of their people.”

Knighton’s father, Sonny Knighton, described him as a victim of his chosen career. “My message to anyone who is interested in going into professional wrestling is to stay away from it,’’ Sonny Knighton said. “Unless you’re one of the top performers, no good comes of it.”

a) Would this information and warnings make you less likely to pursue these sports as a professional athlete? Explain your answer.
b) Do you think football and/or hockey are different than MMA as far as posing potential dangers to a person’s health? Explain your answer.
c) Ask a parent the same questions.

Background

More from the Boston Globe article:

As for Rechner and Knighton, they also started wrestling as teenagers. By their 20s, they were performing in a wild frontier of professional wrestling in which their theatrics were fraught with violence. They wielded metal chairs and barbed-wire-covered bats, among other objects.

The professional wrestling industry, which is classified as entertainment rather than sports because the outcomes of matches are predetermined, has since banned the dangerous tactics that were prevalent when Rechner and Knighton performed on the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) circuit in the 1990s and early 2000s.

But many wrestlers have said they experienced repeated head blows while training and performing for the ECW and WWE. Rechner and Knighton performed briefly for the WWE after it bought ECW in 2003.

Rechner was said to have experienced memory problems, a symptom of CTE, before he died of a heart attack at his New Jersey home in April. His mother, Suzanne Rechner, said his diagnosis should serve as a warning.

“I hope these results help other wrestlers learn about the health problems they are going to have in the future,’’ she said. “WWE, just like the NFL, should take care of their people.”

The WWE has cited positive results in a concussion management program it established in 2008 to complement its talent wellness protocols and better protect its performers.

Two months after Rechner’s death, Knighton was found dead of an accidental heroin overdose in suburban Baltimore.

His family said he was plagued by debilitating physical and mental health problems stemming from his years as a professional wrestler. They said he was unable to conquer his opioid addiction despite a WWE-funded rehab stint.

His father, Sonny Knighton, described him as a victim of his chosen career.

“My message to anyone who is interested in going into professional wrestling is to stay away from it,’’ Sonny Knighton said. “Unless you’re one of the top performers, no good comes of it.’’